Transport / Maritime union has ‘serious concern’ about internal ferry fleet
A TRADE union body is to express “serious concern over the deteriorating state” of the internal ferry fleet in Shetland and Orkney.
It comes after delegates at the STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress) annual conference in Dundee this week unanimously voted in support of a motion put forward by maritime union Nautilus on ferry replacements in Shetland and Orkney.
The motion noted some of the vessels in service on the lifeline Shetland and Orkney ferry services – run by the local councils – are over 40 years old and subject to increasing breakdowns and escalating maintenance costs that impact reliability and resilience.
It called for a “managed renewal of the fleet while there is still time”, and urged the Scottish Government to learn from the “disastrous consequences of its delayed vessel replacement programme on the Western Isles and Clyde routes”.
Proposing the motion, Nautilus strategic organiser Grant Mudie said internal ferry services “underpin island life”.
“Businesses, emergency services, fishing, agriculture, even rockets, rely on a regular, functioning service. Imagine losing someone you love to an accident when they could have been saved if not for the ferry being out,” he added.
“The Scottish Government needs to act now to ensure northern island communities are not abandoned, and they need to learn the lessons from the mistakes on the Western Isles and take action to replace these ageing vessels.”
In response, a spokesperson for Transport Scotland said the responsibility for funding replacement infrastructure is on local councils, but highlighted a new one-off grant of £10 million for both the Orkney and Shetland local authorities for inter-island connectivity in the 2025/26 Scottish budget.
For Shetland, that money is likely to be spent on a new ferry to add resilience to the local network given that there is only one “spare” vessel in the fleet – but no final decisions have yet been made.
The Scottish Government already provides annual funding to cover Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) deficit in operating its internal ferry network.
A report to councillors on ferry resilience last year said nearly 70,000 crossings a year are undertaken by the SIC’s 11 ferries plus the Foula vessel, which is outsourced.
But two of the SIC’s ferries are more than 40 years old – the Hendra (Whalsay) and Snolda (Papa Stour).
The Fair Isle ferry Good Shepherd IV is approaching 40 and is due to be replaced in the coming years, but this has been funded by the UK Government.
With age tends to comes more problems with breakdowns and reliability – while accessibility on some vessels is also an issue too.
Tunnels have been mooted as possible long-term ferry replacements on busier routes but given time constraints SIC chief executive Maggie Sandison previously said it should not be a case of “ferries or tunnels – it’s ferries and tunnels”.
Welcoming the union motion, the SIC’s environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall called on the Scottish Government to provide capital funding beyond the £10 million.
“Having another voice drawing attention to this issue is to be welcomed,” the councillor said.
“We certainly don’t want to end up where the west coast is, with services withdrawn for substantial periods.
“The cost of the replacement of our fleet is beyond our resources.
“We need the Scottish Government to fully recognise that and step up their support for replacement vessels beyond the welcome £10 million allocated in this year’s budget.
“But equally important, we need to keep banging the drum for fixed links which ultimately will reduce costs for the government and council at the same time as hugely improving connectivity for both our economy and communities and reduce carbon emissions.”
Responding to the motion, SIC leader Emma Macdonald said the local authority has engaged regularly with the government through a ferries taskforce, to provide updates on its ferry resilience review and inter-island connectivity programme.
“We’ve been grateful for the Scottish Government’s financial assistance for the day-to-day operating costs of our lifeline ferry services and the £10 million in capital to support the procurement of an additional vessel for the fleet,” she said.
“However, the longer term funding solutions for either a ferry replacement programme and/or tunnels are yet to be resolved.”
Meanwhile the motion also drew support from Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart.
But she also added her view that tunnels are the way forward in the longer term.
“That will need to come alongside ferry replacements in the meantime to ensure lifeline connections and for some islands ferries maybe their future choice,” Wishart said.
“The Scottish Government should listen to the STUC and the independent voice of Nautlilus on this issue.
“Most strongly, however, the Scottish Government should be listening to islanders about our experiences, the impact of unreliable ferry services and how we want our islands to be connected.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We are committed to continuing engagement with the Orkney and Shetland islands councils through the cabinet secretary for finance and local government’s attendance at the established ferry replacement taskforces.
“In the budget for 2025-26, both councils will each receive a one-off grant of £10m funding for inter-island connectivity projects.
“We are aware of the growing need for local authorities to replace ferry fleets and infrastructure.
“Responsibility for funding replacement infrastructure does remain wholly with the councils, however, this budget demonstrates that we are committed to providing support, in what is a challenging financial position for all.”
Meanwhile another Nautilus motion was passed at the STUC congress on delivering alternative fuels for decarbonising maritime and wider networks in Scotland.
Among other things it commits STUC to urge the Scottish Government to invest in the development of infrastructure for alternative fuels and provide financial incentives to support the uptake of alternative fuel technology.
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